RNP Page 109
Page 109
"put!"
With a sudden waving of the command flag, the triggers of dozens of catapults were pulled simultaneously!
"Creak—creak—bang!"
A series of teeth-grinding sounds, as if the wood was being twisted to its limit, suddenly rang out!
Those dozens of thick, powerfully elastic throwing arms.
With the force of a thunderbolt, it shot upwards with tremendous force!
Dozens of enormous, burning fireballs, trailing long plumes of black smoke, roared across the sky like fireballs summoned from hell by some demonic archmage. Mei, think about it... Meimei, empty, you Lin, are you there...?
With graceful parabolas filled with the beauty of death.
Towards the Canhe Village, which appears terrified and helpless amidst the flames.
It slammed down hard!
Given the relatively fragile structure of the pottery jar, it would not be surprising if it shattered instantly under the terrifying centrifugal force of the catapult arm and upon impact with the hard bluestone slabs and the eaves and brackets of the pavilions in Canhe Village!
Therefore, those burning pottery jars that were launched at high speed were more like "cannonballs" than "cannonballs".
Rather, they are like giant, one-time-use "air igniters" filled with hellfire!
"boom!
boom!
*Splash!*
Dozens of burning pottery jars crashed into the staggered buildings of Canhezhuang at the same time!
Some smashed through the fragile roof of a certain attic, pouring a layer of burning, viscous tung oil mixed with sulfur over the valuable calligraphy, paintings, and antiques inside, along with the panicked servants!
The flames, like a festering sore, spread in all directions at an incomprehensible speed!
Some of them crashed onto the hard bluestone slabs of the courtyard.
The shattered pottery shards scattered everywhere, while the scalding tung oil mixed with sulfur flowed like a flood bursting its banks, carrying raging flames, and rushed wildly towards the low-lying areas. Wherever it passed, whether it was flowers, trees, artificial hills, or corridors, everything was instantly transformed into huge, twisted torches!
In just a few dozen breaths, the entire Canhe Village was turned into a sea of fire!
This is no ordinary flame.
The tung oil mixed with sulfur reaches frighteningly high temperatures when it ignites.
And it's extremely difficult to extinguish!
Pouring water on it will only cause the burning oil to float on the surface of the water.
It flowed further afield, spreading the fire even more widely!
Covering it with sand is useless if the amount is too small; instead, it will be burned into scalding crystals by the terrifying high temperature!
Inside Xingfu Hall, there were the Murong clan members who were lucky enough to survive the first wave of the attack.
At this moment, they were completely terrified by the hellish scene before them.
They could clearly hear the shrill screams that were inhuman coming from outside, as well as the crackling and crashing sounds of their usually proud and exquisite pavilions and towers collapsing amidst the flames.
Thick smoke billowed in, choking people and causing them to tear up and almost unable to breathe.
The scorching air felt like it was going to bake your lungs! "Quick!"
Get out of the house!
Deng Baichuan was the first to react. His old face was covered in soot, and his voice was hoarse and urgent: "If we don't leave now, we'll all be burned alive here!"
But no sooner had he finished speaking than an even louder roar, like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting, suddenly came from behind Xingfu Hall!
Another volley!
This time, the burning pottery jars landed precisely behind and on both sides of Xingfutang, completely blocking all their escape routes!
Despair, like a tidal wave, completely overwhelmed everyone's hearts.
They were like rats trapped in an oven, forced to watch helplessly as the red wall of fire drew ever closer, feeling the ever-increasing temperature that could crack their skin, with no way to escape.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Murong Long suddenly burst into laughter, almost like a madman.
His withered old face, illuminated by the flames, appeared to flicker between light and shadow, filled with madness and resentment.
"Well... well, Wang Meng!"
"I...I've spent my whole life traversing the land, scheming against heroes everywhere, but I never imagined...I never imagined I'd be driven to this brink by a junior like this!"
Murong Long's laughter abruptly stopped.
His eyes, which had been as still as water, suddenly shone with a terrifying, demonic light!
He smiled coldly, his gaze slowly sweeping over the clansmen in the hall, who were behaving in a cowardly manner out of fear and despair: "In my Murong clan, there are only ghosts who die in battle, not cowards who are burned alive!"
He suddenly pointed to the main gate, which was completely blocked by flames and thick smoke, his voice as if squeezed out from between his teeth, full of determination and madness!
"Those who want to live, follow me and fight their way out of here!"
Indeed, from the very beginning, the design of Canhezhuang was not intended to be a Jiangnan-style garden for people to enjoy.
It was originally a fortress.
For nearly a century, the Murong clan had been plotting to restore their kingdom.
The sheer quantity of weapons and armor they secretly hoarded far exceeded what ordinary people could imagine.
In reality, many of the armors were stored there through Li Qingluo's connections because the Murong clan of Gusu had no room in their own warehouses. This served as a backup and a smokescreen.
In order to avoid being destroyed for the crime of treason by privately possessing armor before this "great undertaking" is accomplished, the true core—Canhezhuang—followed the strictest military fortress standards from site selection to construction.
Its location is secluded and far from the official road.
Moreover, its internal structure was designed entirely according to the specifications of a small city.
Therefore, when Murong Long's furious and resolute roar echoed through the fire, he did not, like a headless fly, actually lead his men to attack the wall of fire that had been completely sealed off by the flames.
That roar was only meant for anyone who might be outside to hear.
All's fair in war; this is just a delaying tactic!
"Are you just going to stand there and wait to die?"
Murong Long suddenly turned around, and two terrifying beams of light shot out from his lifeless eyes.
He shoved aside a clansman who was blocking his way and strode to a seemingly ordinary solid wall on the side of Xingfu Hall, where a painting of a "fierce tiger descending the mountain" was hung!
"open!"
With a furious roar, Murong Long plunged his withered, claw-like right hand, his five fingers forming a claw, into the eye of the tiger on the wall without the slightest hesitation!
With a sudden twist of his wrist, an extremely pure and condensed internal force poured in!
A series of teeth-grinding, mechanical clicking sounds echoed from deep within the wall.
Then, to everyone's disbelief, the sturdy wall, several feet thick and made of a single massive stone, actually... actually slowly caved inward, and then, silently, slid to one side!
A dark, damp, and gloomy secret passage, large enough for three people to walk side by side, was revealed!
This is the true face of Canhezhuang!
The pavilions and towers on the ground, and even the "Xingfu Hall" that symbolizes the family's power, are nothing more than a magnificent shell that is on the surface and can be sacrificed at any time!
It's just a thin layer of skin used to deceive the Song court and the people of the world!
The real Canhezhuang, the steel heart that could support the grand dream of "restoring the country," has always been hidden beneath these islands in Taihu Lake!
"If you want to live, get in here!"
Murong Long was the first to walk into the deep darkness without looking back.
The desperate members of the Murong clan were like drowning people grasping at the last straw; they had no time to hesitate!
They scrambled and stumbled, rushing frantically toward the cave entrance that exuded both life and chill.
Deng Baichuan reacted quickly, immediately organizing several relatively calm guards.
He drew his sword and stood guard at the cave entrance, shouting loudly to direct the crowd's evacuation.
Swept along by the crowd, Wang Yuyan was forced to retreat into the secret passage as well.
When her jade-like feet stepped onto the cold, damp stone steps, and when the scorching air was completely replaced by the chilling darkness, what welled up in her heart was not the relief of surviving a disaster.
It was a chilling fear that was a hundred times stronger and went deep into the bone than when facing the rain of fire!
She thought she had seen through the Murong family, and that she had seen through these fools who were blinded by the dream of "restoring their kingdom".
She thought she was the most skillful player, able to easily use their anger and power as pawns in her revenge.
But only now did she realize with horror that she was wrong.
How wrong!
What she revealed was not the Murong family's trump card at all.
She merely tore away the most insignificant layer of disguise from this ancient beast that had been dormant for a hundred years!
As they ventured deeper, lamps on both sides of the secret passage automatically lit up, illuminating the path leading underground.
Only then did Wang Yuyan realize that the walls of this secret passage were actually made of huge stones mixed with molten iron, making them incredibly sturdy.
At intervals, small stone chambers appear on both sides, which can be used to hide soldiers and fire.
This is no secret passage at all!
This is clearly a real city wall tunnel buried deep underground!
“Wang Meng…he burned it.”
It's nothing more than a dilapidated woodshed that I left him!
"He wants war?"
A ferocious smile stretched across Murong Long's withered face.
"Then I, this old man, will give him a real war!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the passageway ahead suddenly opened up!